News

2003-03-13 15:54:31.0

BIRTHDAY GIFT TURNS OUT TO BE WORTH $7,777

A mother ended up giving her daughter a lot more for her birthday than she planned, after one of the five Missouri Lottery Scratchers tickets she tucked in her daughter’s birthday card turned out to be worth $7,777. Patricia "Diane" Bueler, 41, of Hannibal said she plans to share some of her good fortune with her mother.

Bueler, who is a commodity manager for Watlow, said she and her husband, Matt, also plan to use the money to make their family’s upcoming summer trip to Walt Disney World a lot nicer. Matt Bueler is a teacher and coach at Hannibal High School.

"We’ve been scrimping and saving to take the kids to Disney World in June," she said. The Buelers are the parents of three young children.

Bueler said her mom gave her the tickets in a birthday card on March 8 for her birthday, which was March 9. Her mom bought the winning tickets at Abel’s Quik Shop, Highway 61 and MM in Hannibal. Since her mom hasn’t been working this year due to her boss’ illness, Bueler told her not to give her anything for her birthday. But her mom tucked $5 worth of lottery tickets in anyway.